Bullying is unfortunately something many kids face at school. But it’s even worse when it’s related to gender and sensitive topics such as being quite hairy for a young girl.
Our certified positive psychology and parenting coach, Rana Hany, addresses the horrifying situation of having a young girl being bullied for having visible body hair and how to deal with it.
“A long time ago at my school, I remember witnessing an incident where a boy and girl were annoying each other until the boy shamed her for having hair on her legs and compared her to a boy,” Hany recalls.
“At that time we were all so young and even I didn’t understand what he meant. All I noticed was that the young girl ran away crying and didn’t come to school for a few days. A week later, she no longer had any hair on her body,’ Hany explains.
Via: Getty Images – Shaving body hair
Any girl approaching puberty is prone to facing a similar situation and being bullied at school, at the club, or any other place because of a normal body transformation during adolescence. Being subjected to irony, bullying, or sarcasm can heavily impact a child’s self-esteem, especially when it has to do with their appearance.
As parents, it is our duty to support our children whenever they need it, not only when the timing is right. It’s not right to let your daughter face bullying because your family traditions consider it as ‘3eeb’ or unnecessary to remove her hair at such a young age. Many mothers think that the hair will grow thicker if we remove it or that it’s harmful to a child at that age to start using certain hair removal products.
To make sure you’re not doing anything harmful or putting your daughter in danger, it is best to seek professional advice and ask a doctor which method would be best for this situation. This will allow you to support your daughter without putting her in harm’s way.
Via: Moms – Shaving body hair
Tips to dealing with your daughter if she has a lot of body hair:
You can consider doing the following to help boost her self-esteem before opting for a hair removal solution.
- Explain that people come in all shapes and sizes and that is normal. Whoever sees it as strange and starts making fun of any differences is the person with the problem.
- Decide on a suitable response she should communicate if she’s bullied because of her body hair.
- Ensure that you’ll support her with the solution she feels most comfortable with, but that you want to make sure that she’s doing it for herself rather than for those around her. Make sure she understands that her happiness and comfort are important to you.
- Compliment her and make her understand that she is beautiful no matter what, that body hair is something every girl experiences in different intensities and that there is nothing wrong with her. Try and help her love herself and her body no matter what.
Further reading:
- Video: Joelle Mardinian Explains Why She Shaves Her Daughter’s Legs
- When Should My Daughter Start Leg Hair Removal?
- Places to Get Laser Hair Removal in Cairo
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